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Creating effective presentations that hit the mark is a little like putting together a puzzle. The majority of professionals in the business world rely on presentations at some point during negotiations. Yet, the results are sometimes inconsistent. Some presentations clearly demonstrate the intended idea, while others leave people confused or, worse, disinterested.

How DO you make this tool work for you? One simple answer to creating effective presentations: planning.

Creating effective presentations means planning, planning and more planning. This often requires meticulous research. For business presentations, the plan should include answers to the following:

• What point you want to make?
• What benefits you are offering?
• What makes you unique from your competitors?
• What deal you are offering?
• Why are YOU the only choice?

Good planning helps ensure that enough of your presentation sticks in the mind of your audience to support what you’re proposing at the end of your presentation. Hence, your slides should be used as props, not as running commentary. Crowded data-filled slides often result in confused minds. They pull the audience’s attention away from you and what you’re saying.

Slides should have a maximum of four lines of text or one image that represents one main idea. Always use the slide as a prop while YOU present your message.

When creating effective presentations, one important ingredient is your own conviction. If you are not sold on the idea you’re talking about, the presentation is going to fall flat on its face. The enthusiasm of someone who believes in what he or she is saying is infectious and essential when selling an idea.

Keep slides and your communication simple and clear. Whenever possible, eliminate lists and data tables. Instead, put the gist or result on the slide. The key to creating effective presentations is clarity in your communication. If you have a lot of data to share, put the details in a handout and distribute it before or after your presentation.

While we are on the subject of planning in creating effective presentations, let’s not forget about the hardware. Many presentations fall flat because the logistics around hardware was not given enough attention. Always check that Internet connectivity, computer battery, your projector, outlets and anything else you need are available and in working order. If possible, run through your presentation once to make sure there are no hidden glitches.

Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to creating effective presentations.

Visual aids and props can go a long way in lending interest and depth to your presentation. Many people are highly visual in nature. “Did you see that!” Audiences tend to remember visually presented information more clearly and in more detail. If you’re still a bit nervous, a small “prop” will help you to keep your hands “busy”, so you can avoid a number of unconscious “nervous habits”. Some props and visual aids I’ve found useful during my presentations include these items.

Small stuffed animals

I’ve used “Winnie the Pooh”, “Tigger” and “Piglet” on more occasions than I can count. I also have successfully used “generic” stuffed rabbits, frogs, puppies and mice. Be creative and imaginative in coming up with ways to use them to help make your point and your audiences will eat it up.

Hand outs

Hand outs are still an effective means of keeping your audience in tow. Use them to reinforce your main points, as an outline for your audience to follow your presentation and as additional information they can take away. If you have additional services or a product to offer, be sure to include a flyer as part of your handout package. I’ve actually had seminar attendees almost literally fight over handouts, climbing over one another in their quest to get the handout package.

Photographs

Photographs make great visual aids – When I recently gave presentations to group of fellow teachers, I included slides which not only quoted some of them but used a photo of them as well. In another presentation, I used a collage of photos to illustrate the upcoming themes and topics of my presentation. One of my most memorable “Thank You for attending” slides featured a collage of photos I’d taken previously of persons who were in the audience. Needless to say, it went over quite well.

Charts and graphs

Charts and graphs put verbal information into a visual form that is much more easily digested and remembered by audiences. They can also add a more colorful dimension to your presentation statistics and key facts.

Demonstrations

By all means don’t miss an opportunity to include a short demonstration in your presentation. Use volunteers from the audience, mini-competitions, etc. to deeply involve attendees of your presentation. It’ll be all the more memorable not only for them, but for their fellow attendees as well. Have them give a brief comment, relate an experience or offer up a relevant anecdote during your presentation. Ask for volunteers, “Has anyone had an experience with …” or “Has this ever happened to anyone here?” I always get at least a couple of eager volunteers. They sure can liven things up.

Video

Video is a marvelous tool that is being included more and more into all kinds of presentations. Digital video clips needn’t be lengthy or excessively large and can be inserted into a Power Point slide. These include full color, motion and sound to introduce, illustrate or deepen a key point. Their use should be controlled if not limited as they can cause “technical problems” if the equipment you’re using isn’t yours. A differently configured computer can wreak havoc on your carefully crafted presentation.

Don’t leave out sound

Don’t leave out sound in your presentations either. Some ideas include using a bell, whistle, rattle, Kazoo, slide whistle, flute, rhythm sticks or some other little noise maker. Leave the Klaxon horns and foghorns for New Year’s Eve. Sound can be used as prompts for attention-getting, cueing slides or activities or audience participation – “Now at the sound of the bell, everybody say …

Use more audio visual aids and props in your presentations. You too will then have more attendees approaching after your presentation to shake your hand and say, “Thanks, I really enjoyed your presentation.”

Your responsibilities as CEO include speaking and presenting to different audiences. This requires speeches and presentations that Put the Audience First. They resonate with and are specific to each audience. The speech you deliver to shareholders will address concerns of shareholders. The speech you give to employees will address their concerns.

Use these 5 Tips for CEO Presentations to write and deliver speeches and presentations each of your audiences will believe is meant especially for them.

Tip #1-Make a handwritten list of the top three pain points of each specific audience.

Examples

Industry audiences: local and global competition, government regulations, growth opportunities

Shareholders: challenges to growing market share, plans to grow market share, near and long term vision for share value

Company executives: initiatives for growth, funds available for growth, changes in product/service offerings

Company employees: near and long term issues of market share and how these affect employees, how your expectations about productivity will affect them, creating a positive work environment.

These lists of pain points for each specific audience will impact how much your audience feels that you have Put the Audience First.

Tip #2- Make a handwritten list of potential calls-to-action for each specific audience

“Inspire them first…Inform them Later” is a must in today’s world. Information is no longer the primary reason people listen to speeches and presentations, because vast amounts of information are instantly and freely available online.

What a CEO must do provide is inspiration. Call it renewed enthusiasm to tackle a tough job, willingness to grind out the work for an intense period of time, motivate people to do something they would prefer not to do-that’s inspiration. Taking people from their default choice and moving them to undertake a new activity is inspiration.

You need a specific call-to-action that’s related to one or all of the items you’ve listed in Tip #1.

You will use your call-to-action at the end of your speech or presentation, and you’ll write everything else that precedes it to drive steadily towards it.

Tip #3- Craft an attention-getting opening for each specific audience. This goes far beyond thanking people for being there, or thanking the person or group that invited you. (You shouldn’t do either of these things.)

An attention-getting opening asks a question or poses a challenge that is clearly and evocatively related to one of the pain points you listed in Tip #1.

Examples of audience-specific attention-getting openings:

Industry audiences: “Local and global completion is like a marathon. You have to get off to fast start and keep going the distance. Where does your company fit in the fast and furious race that is local and global competition?”

Company executives: “Imagine one year from now you are being featured in the Wall Street Journal for our company’s extraordinarily successful new product or service. What would that feel like? What will it take to make it happen?”

Company employees: “Picture your wallet (pause) and picture your briefcase/back pack (pause). What would it mean to you and our company if our market share filled the briefcase or backpack instead of the wallet?”

Tip #4- Craft key points for your speech that drive to the call-to-action for that specific audience

Industry audiences: Let’s say that your call to action will be “Today, and every day, you have the opportunity to look forward for growth opportunities. The next time we meet, I want to hear at least one amazing effort from each and every one of you in this room.”

The key points that lead up to this call-to-action could be:

Key Point 1 -Studying adjacent markets, either horizontal or vertical, helps you understand the opportunities for your own company’s expansion.

Key Point 2 – Gathering and analyzing data from users of these adjacent markets should be designed to highlight what is missing. What do the current customers want that they aren’t getting?

Key Point 3 – Select a few people you wouldn’t normally put on a team together to brainstorm about the question “what growth opportunities are out there and which ones should we pursue?”

Tip #5-Select content for your speech that is deeply relevant to the specific audience and that leads powerfully to your key points.

Building on the example in Tip #4:

Leading materials (stories, research results, statistics, visuals, handouts, references to popular culture) for each key point:

For Key Point 1 – Present the results of research studies and marketing statistics on adjacent markets; show some visuals of advertising or websites used by these companies; ask the audience to share one way their company relates to these markets with the person sitting next to them.

For Key Point 2- Use statistics and analysis to discuss the unhappiness factor. Be a little humorous by referring to a well-known movie or television character that is always unhappy. Ask the audience to imagine what it would take to make that character happy.

For Key Point 3 – Present some interesting studies that used atypical groups of people to brainstorm about a problem. Go deep into how different people have different perspectives and how they make brainstorming a really valuable effort. Tell a story about a product or service that was the result of an unusual group of people brainstorming.

Get started today with an inspirational speech or presentation that reflects your position as CEO and clearly Puts the Audience First. When they love what you have to say, they remember it and they are inspired to take action.